The present invention relates to an oven, and more particularly to a system for supporting a heating element in an oven.
Conventional ovens employ electric resistance heaters or heating elements in an oven compartment for the baking and cooking foods. Typically, a heating element is disposed within the bottom of an oven cavity. It is the general practice to utilize heating elements which can be removed from the oven to facilitate cleaning and replacement if the element fails. Generally, these heating elements are supported along the bottom of the oven cavity and are plugged into a terminal connection in the rear of the oven, permitting removal of the element by breaking the electrical connection.
A common problem in using an oven is maintaining a clean interior oven cavity. In the conventional type oven described above, the removal and reinstallation of the heater element while cleaning the oven cavity has several disadvantages. The manipulation of the heating element is generally an awkward and tiresome activity. Moreover, the removal and reinstallation of the heater element may lead to a misinstallation or cause damage to the heating element.
Accordingly, some oven designs utilize an oven configuration wherein the heating element is disposed in a separate compartment provided below the oven cavity. These types of oven configurations may be referred to as hidden element ovens. In these types of configurations, cleaning is accomplished relatively easily because there is no visible heating element along the bottom of the oven cavity. The bottom wall of the oven cavity can be simply cleaned without the difficulties and complications associated with removing a heating element.
Hidden element ovens further provide the advantage of uniform heating of the oven cavity which can enhance the cooking performance of the oven. Heat from the hidden heating element is transferred to the underside of the bottom wall of the oven cavity and is conducted throughout the entire oven cavity body and is radiated into the cavity from all of the interior oven cavity surfaces in a relatively even manner.
While hidden element ovens offer the above described advantages over conventional ovens, there are some disadvantages which have prevented their wide spread use. One significant disadvantage is the relative difficulty in replacing the heating element if it should fail. In a conventional oven, since the heating element is supported along the bottom of the oven cavity and is plugged into a terminal connection in the rear of the oven--the heating elements can be easily removed. In a hidden element oven, since the heating element is in a compartment below the oven cavity, the heating element can not be readily accessed for service. The prior art has, heretofore, provided few solutions to this problem.